Athenais: The Life of Louis XIV's Mistress, the Real Queen of France

( 4 )
Paperback (Reprint)
$21.99
BN.com price
Marketplace (New and Used)
from
$0.99
$21.99 List Price (Save 95%)
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
All (23)  
Used (19)  
New (4)  
Close
Sort by
Page 1 of 3
Showing 1 – 10 of 23 (3 pages)
$0.99
(Save 95%)
Goodwill Industries of SF
Seller since 2012

Feedback rating:

(119)

Condition:

New — never opened or used in original packaging.

Like New — packaging may have been opened. A "Like New" item is suitable to give as a gift.

Very Good — may have minor signs of wear on packaging but item works perfectly and has no damage.

Good — item is in good condition but packaging may have signs of shelf wear/aging or torn packaging. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Acceptable — item is in working order but may show signs of wear such as scratches or torn packaging. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Used — An item that has been opened and may show signs of wear. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Refurbished — A used item that has been renewed or updated and verified to be in proper working condition. Not necessarily completed by the original manufacturer.

Good
2004 Paperback The cover may contain minor wear, and the corners may have some light degree of damage. If there are any notes present, they would only be penciled and only ... visible on a few pages. There are no ink markings of any kind, but there may be a remainder-mark on the outside edge of the pages. Proceeds benefit non-profit Goodwill Industries of San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin Counties. We create solutions to poverty through the businesses we operate. Your purchase creates jobs and transforms liv. Read more Show Less

Ships from: San Francisco, CA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$1.99
(Save 91%)
BookBuyers Online1 CA
Seller since 2007

Feedback rating:

(2396)

Condition: Good
2004 Paperback Good -Meets or exceeds the guidelines for GOOD condition. May have minimal wear or damage; may have previous owner's signature.

Ships from: San Jose, CA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$1.99
(Save 91%)
Yankee Clipper Books
Seller since 2009

Feedback rating:

(3924)

Condition: Acceptable
Sail the Seas of Value

Ships from: Windsor, CT

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$1.99
(Save 91%)
New Chapter Recycling
Seller since 2010

Feedback rating:

(3293)

Condition: Good

Ships from: Lakewood, WA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$1.99
(Save 91%)
Free State Books
Seller since 2012

Feedback rating:

(1010)

Condition: Very Good
Book shows a small amount of wear - very good condition! Free State Books. Never settle for less.

Ships from: Halethorpe, MD

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$1.99
(Save 91%)
Free State Books
Seller since 2012

Feedback rating:

(1010)

Condition: Acceptable
Free State Books. Never settle for less.

Ships from: Halethorpe, MD

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$2.95
(Save 87%)
citywbooks
Seller since 2008

Feedback rating:

(981)

Condition: Very Good
Clean book with light signs of reading. Quick response!

Ships from: Salt Lake City, UT

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$3.94
(Save 82%)
Extremely_Reliable
Seller since 2007

Feedback rating:

(3210)

Condition: Very Good
Buy with confidence. Excellent Customer Service & Return policy.

Ships from: Richmond, TX

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
$4.00
(Save 82%)
Pomfret Street Books PA
Seller since 2005

Feedback rating:

(199)

Condition: Very Good
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. 2004 Trade Paperback Near Fine

Ships from: Carlisle, PA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$5.00
(Save 77%)
Williams Books WV
Seller since 2005

Feedback rating:

(98)

Condition: Good
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. 2004 Trade Paperback Good +

Ships from: Martinsburg, WV

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
Page 1 of 3
Showing 1 – 10 of 23 (3 pages)
Close
Sort by
NOOK Book (eBook)
$9.99
BN.com price

Available on NOOK devices and apps

  • Nook Devices
  • NOOK
  • NOOK Color
  • NOOK Tablet
  • Tablet/Phone
  • NOOK for iPad
  • NOOK for iPhone
  • NOOK for Android
  • NOOK for Android (Tablet)
  • NOOK Kids for iPad
  • PC/Mac
  • NOOK Study
  • NOOK for PC
  • NOOK for Mac

Want a NOOK? Explore Now

More About This Book

Overview

In her superb new biography, Hilton chronicles the life of this extraordinary woman, known as "the real Queen of France," who reigned as official mistress to Louis XIV during the most glorious period of "the splendid century."

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly
Beautiful, haughty, well bred and, by the author's account, "a superlative lover," Athenais de Montespan was a shoo-in for the role of official mistress to King Louis XIV. Despite being married, she spent 12 years in a passionate relationship with the Sun King, commanding his attention in a way that his own wife couldn't: she teased him, told him jokes, even scolded him and threw tantrums, and he rewarded her with not only his adoration, but jewels bigger than those he gave his wife. In independent scholar Hilton's well-researched but unevenly paced account of Montespan's "reign," the queen, Marie-Therese of Spain, is a pitiful and unattractive blight on the royal landscape, unable to compete with Montespan's manifold attractions. It may be true, but Hilton's scathing descriptions of the other women who crossed Louis's path-one was "so extremely plain" that a platonic relationship "was the best she could hope for," while Marie-Therese with her "lumpy Hapsburg nose" was "frankly far too unattractive" for sex with her "to be anything more than an obligation for the king"-raises questions about her evenhandedness. Distracting, too, is her tendency to wander off the topic, though some of the tangents are memorable-among them, that red-headed wet nurses were unpopular in 17th-century France because redheads were thought to be "a product of sex during menstruation." The life of a royal mistress usually offers an intriguing perspective on her lover's reign, and Montespan is no exception, but Hilton's debut biography would have had more impact if she had been more focused in choosing her material. 8 pages of b&w photos. (Dec. 4) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
In a strong debut, Hilton brings new color to the cheeks of Athénaïs-Françoise de Rochechouart de Mortemart, Marquise de Montespan, the woman who named herself for Athena, captured a king, delivered his children, finessed a queen, and fought with ferocious intelligence and political skill to maintain her precarious position at Versailles. Hilton, 27, writes with the confidence of a veteran historian about a set of extraordinarily complicated events. Showing a facility with French language, culture, politics, and history, she fashions an exciting tale of a woman who employed her stunning beauty, sexual inventiveness, and incomparable guile to advance herself and her consequent-and ungrateful-children. Her toxic sons were inconvenienced by her death, and one of them raced to her bed, ripped from her still-warm neck a key to her desk, unlocked it, and galloped away with the contents. Hilton does a solid job of reconstructing Athénaïs's childhood and of charting her rise in Louis's court. At first the smitten monarch visited her in disguise, but soon the relationship was known by all. It was a different time, adultery-wise: The king traveled in a coach populated not just with his wife (the "dull and dumpy" Marie-Thèrése) but also with once and future mistresses. When Athénaïs met Louis, she was, inconveniently, married to an abusive gambler. But he was convinced to disappear, and Athénaïs found herself living in Versailles in service to Louis XIV, sometimes thrice daily. Alas, Athénaïs delivered nine children, lost her looks, lost her position, and devoted herself to charity-a sequence Hilton chronicles with compassion. Her love of the arts enhances her descriptions of pageantry, furniture,fashion, and architecture, though those who don't know French will not enjoy having to visit the endnotes for translations. And some will wonder, too, why Hilton's descriptions of unattractive people are written with such patent relish. Still, a compelling portrait of an astounding figure. (8 pp. b&w photographs)

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780316778510
  • Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
  • Publication date: 5/9/2008
  • Edition description: Reprint
  • Pages: 388
  • Sales rank: 339,008
  • Product dimensions: 8.50 (w) x 5.50 (h) x 0.86 (d)

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 4 )

Rating Distribution

5 Star

(3)

4 Star

(0)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(1)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines
Add Recommendations
Your Name: Create a Pen Name or Leave Anonymously

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

  • - HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
  • - Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
  • - Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
  • - Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
  • - Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
  • - Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
  • - Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

  • - By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
  • - Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
  • - See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!

Create a Pen Name

Your Pen Name is your unique identiy on BN.com. It will appear on the reviews you write and other website activities. Your Pen Name cannot be edited, changed or deleted once submitted.

Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously

We're sorry, but penname is already taken.

Please select one of the following:
Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously

penname is available!

By visiting the BN.com website or marking a purchase on BN.com, a User is deemed to have accepted the Terms of Use.

Continue Anonymously

Welcome, penname

You have successfully created your Pen Name. Start enjoying the benefits of the BN.com Community today.

Sort by: Showing all of 4 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted January 30, 2003

    Intriguing Look at a Fascinating Woman

    I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a well-written biography AND French history. Madame de Montespan was a beautiful cortesan, and mistress of the Sun King, Louis XIV. Her rise and fall is well-detailed in this excellent book. The inside (and not always flattering) look at the lavish court of Versailles and its nobility makes for great reading.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted February 12, 2009

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted March 5, 2012

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted March 12, 2009

    No text was provided for this review.

Sort by: Showing all of 4 Customer Reviews
If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble
Why is this product inappropriate?
Comments (optional)
500 character limit